Functional maturation of rat trigeminal nerve

By investigating the relative number of activated axons per microelectrode track, the conduction velocities and the recovery periods, it is shown that the maturation of the maxillary branch of the rat trigeminal nerve is mainly postnatal and continues well after the third postnatal week. An unexpected ongoing activity is found to occur in this maturing sensory nerve. This sustained activity decreases as the animals grow older. It cannot be suppressed by prolonged peripheral sensory deprivation, thus suggesting a local (endogenous) origin. It can be suppressed by cooling the nerve. This suppression seems to have effects on the functional capabilities of the nerve.